[linux-audio-user] mouse wheel behavior and RFC: human interface guidelines

[John Check]

On Saturday 21 August 2004 01:30 am, Lee Revell wrote:
> I just installed jack-rack and find the mouse wheel behavior a bit odd.
> The sliders are horizontal, and turning the wheel 'up' (away from you)
> decreases the slider value, and vice versa.
>
> This seems backwards to me.  What does everyone else think?  This is one

I agree. "Away" in most circumstances increases values and "towards" decreases

> of those things that will *have* to work the same way in every app,
> otherwise it's maddening for users, so we had better agree on it now.
> Alternatively, there has to be one place where this behavior can be set
> for all apps.  What is not acceptable is for 50% to do it one way and
> 50% the other.
>
> What is really needed is a set of human interface guidelines for Linux
> audio apps.  Better to do this now, while much of the code is not
> mature, than later, and have a bunch of different apps which work,
> except that the widgets work completely different from one app to
> another for no good reason other than that person A felt like doing it
> like this and person B like that.  You can talk about freedom all you
> want but the users do not care about this kind of thing, it just looks
> like the left hand is not talking to the right.  Professional users
> (rightfully) demand a consistent interface, unless there is a good
> reason (extra functionality) not to provide one.
>

Making things configurable so users can override and have consistency
would be acceptable..

> I would like to start putting these guidelines together.  A good place
> to start is to document the behavior of the most popular and mature
> existing apps.  Any suggestions are welcome.
>



> Lee